Fidel Castro in a commentary published yesterday: “One can agree or not with Qaddafi,” but it is “absolutely evident” that the United States will soon “give NATO the order” to invade Libya – “perhaps in a matter of hours or a few days” – and “this must be denounced.” AP story here.

Guillermo Martinez in the Sun-Sentinel: “Cuba isn’t Egypt because Cubans have Miami.”

The rappers Los Aldeanos visited Holguin to visit two fans in jail, big trouble ensued, and the Herald sorts through the various accounts.

Tourism in Cuba could be a “significant external countercyclical source of growth,” a new IMF paper (pdf) argues.Authors Rafael Romeu and Andy Wolfe find that tourist arrivals in Cuba move in tandem with the economic fortunes of source countries; that travelers to Caribbean destinations are sensitive to price; and that Cuba could increase family travel significantly if it were to reduce consular and customs costs.